- Sustainable energy accelerator EIT InnoEnergy has issued its first-ever global call for start-ups across the entire sustainability value chain.
- The call is open to start-ups worldwide in areas including but not limited to: renewable energy, energy efficiency, heat and transport, to solve the decarbonisation challenge.
Elena Bou, innovation director at EIT InnoEnergy commented: “We are at an environmental crossroads. Action needs to be taken today to ensure we reach our global carbon reduction targets – which is why we’ve expanded our call beyond Europe.”
“Delhi has just declared an air pollution emergency and in the US, the number of polluting motor vehicles on the roads has grown steadily to more than 270,000. We are reaching a tipping point – we need to tackle climate change together, and through our trusted ecosystem of more than 460 partners, we can do just that,” Bou added.
EIT InnoEnergy’s current call for start-ups will offer innovators worldwide the potential to improve conditions not only in Europe but in their home countries too.
The process will see the top 20 innovators receiving business support to accelerate commercialisation, with the winner receiving €100,000 ($110,000).
Start-ups from Asia and the US are of particular interest, where clean air and vast internal combustion engine vehicle uptake are causing a noticeable impact on society.
Bou noted: “The US and Asia are facing their own climate challenges, but they are also hotbeds of innovation. We want to access these great minds to accelerate the energy transition across the globe.
From cleantech hubs like San Francisco and Boston in the US to leaders in renewable energy like Singapore, we know their start-ups are on the cusp of monumental breakthroughs, she said.
“We are ready to partner with these innovators to lead the charge to change our energy landscape for the better,” Bou stated.
EIT InnoEnergy predicts the attention of innovators to be clearly on heat and transport in 2020.
The two sectors have proved harder to decarbonise with both contributing to growing issues around clean air in countries like India, the US and mainland China.
Click here to apply by not later than 19 December 2019.
Author: Babalwa Bungane
This article was originally published on ESI Africa sister website Smart Energy International and is republished with permission with minor editorial changes.
